Friday, August 30, 2013

Ten players battled in the opening round of Ashland XXXIV. Ben Caiello (2056) successfully defended board 1 from Lendel Robinson (1668) as Gil Holmes (1736) battled a determined Daniel Smith (1465) long into the night before finally securing the point as the clocks were winding down.

In the Amateur Section, Jordan Anderson (1346) took advantage of an opening miscue to take the point from Jared Whiting (1127), Christian Dunlap (1293) took the point from James Doyle (1103) and David Stoner (UNR) scored the win over Richard Watts (1200) in his first rated game.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Ten players battled in the fourth round of the Lowry Grand Prix Series. John Simmons (2000) & Bob Halliday (1768) tied for first in the Open Section. Randy Mosteller (1839) placed third.

Mike Mayfield (1409) took full advantage of Josh Lewer (1467) playing up a section to post a perfect 3-0 score in the Amateur Section and pick up the maximum points of 15. Mike has closed the sixteen point gap in the Series down to three points with just two rounds to go. Ed Stewart (1204) & Mike Lisenby (UNR) tied for second with 2 points.

Friday, August 23, 2013

The Columbia Chess Club returned to action with Ashland Quick XXXIX. Chris Labrecque (1565) rolled through the Top Quad posting a perfect 3-0 score! Lendel Robinson (1502) took clear second with 2 points. James Doyle (1084) went undefeated in the Lower Quad taking clear first with 2.5 points splitting the point with Jordan Anderson (1228) in the final round. Jared Whiting (848) finished in clear second with 2 points after bouncing back from a first round defeat.

Round 4 of the Lowry Grand Prix Series is Sat Aug 24 in Evans, Ga. We're expecting a good turnout based on the early entries at the CSRA site. If you can't make the first round at 10:00 join in at 12:30 with a .5 point bye. Come out for some cheap, rated chess!

Ashland XXXIV begins next week, Aug 29. Our regular weekly tournament has been shortened to four rounds. Everything else is the same: Four round Swiss. Two Sections, Open & Amateur (U1505). One round a week for four weeks. Entry fee $2 for club members, $5 for non-members. One bye allowed.You do not have to play every round. You can play one round or four! USCF membership required.Rounds start at 7:30. Game 75 +30s inc

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

National Master Jeffrey Haskel of Boca Raton, FL, managed three wins and two draws to take clear first place in the Open Section of the Columbia Open held at the Hilton Garden Inn in the Harbison area of Columbia, SC. He waded through the tough field with IM Danny Kopec and NM Klaus Pohl to come out on top. Patrick McCartney and Dominique Myers both scored 3.5 points sharing second place.
The U2200 prize had a three way tie with Tim Rankin, Gene Nix, and Sulia Mason all scoring 2.5 points.

The U2000 section created the most drama with the section not decided until the last game of the tournament. Gary Branton Jr pulled out a win, putting him in clear first place with 4.5 points.Rade Musulin and Kapish Potula shared second place with 4 points each.Lillian Wanda took the U1800 prize with an impressive 3.5 points.

In the U1600 section, Jayashree Sekar and Columbia Chess Club regular, Andrew Manion, split first place honors and Bob Mahan claimed sole third place.
The U1400 prize went to Sri Uppaluri with 3.5 points.

U1200 Champ Akshat Jindal

Akshat Jindal scored the only 5-0 in the tournament giving him first the U1200 section.Gunateja Guruvelli took sole second place with an impressive 4 points and third place was split between Sudhakar Avirinei, Zach Darga, and Rares Cristian.
The U1000 prize was claimed by Wouter Van De Groep.

Nine states were represented totaling 77 players playing in four sections. This set a record attendance for The Columbia Open. Full results can be seen here.

Many Thanks to all who attended, parents and spouses and supporters of your players.
It was a great Columbia Open!

The great teamwork of Bob Halliday, David Grimaud, Drew Plyler and Daniel Smith led to a successful tournament. Thanks to all.

Friday, August 9, 2013

IM Kopec visits the club on Thursday Aug 15! Dr Kopec will give a lecture then play a consult game with IM Alexander Matros. Each Master will be in separate room with a demo board and discuss the moves with the players in the room. This is a great opportunity to find out how an IM thinks during a game and discuss what you would like to play and why it is or isn't the best way to go. Dr Kopec will also have his books & DVDs for sale. Club opens at 7:00pm and this event is open to everyone! Come out and get your head ready for some Chess because....

The 8th Columbia Open is here! The Hilton Garden Inn Harbison is the playing site for the fifth straight year. There are many restaurants and stores in the immediate area so food and entertainment is easily accessible. If you have not registered you can still register at the the club on Thursday and avoid lines on Fri evening or Sat morning. Players from eight states are registered and we expect to have our usual 65-75 players in attendance. The entry list can be found HERE.

Rated play returns next week, Thursday Aug 22 with Ashland Quick XXXIX. This will be our usual Quick Tournament, Game 20 Quads. Entry fee $10 for club members, $15 for non-members. First place each quad $20, Second $15. Quad may become a Swiss based on the number of entries. Round 1 starts at 7:30.

Regular rated play will be back on Aug 29 with the start of Ashland XXXIV. Four round Swiss. Two Sections, Open & Amateur (U1505). One round a week for four weeks. Entry fee $2 for club members, $5 for non-members. One bye allowed.You do not have to play every round. You can play one round or four! Register by 7:15, Rounds start at 7:30. Game 75 +30s inc.